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Royal Mail workers vote to strike | Royal Mail workers vote to strike |
(9 minutes later) | |
Royal Mail postal workers have voted to take strike action over job security and working conditions. | Royal Mail postal workers have voted to take strike action over job security and working conditions. |
Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of a total of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike. | Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of a total of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike. |
The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service. | The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service. |
Royal Mail says it needs to make big changes to combat a fall in the number of letter and parcel deliveries. | Royal Mail says it needs to make big changes to combat a fall in the number of letter and parcel deliveries. |
Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said his union would work hard to avoid a strike. He said it would give the Royal Mail a "final opportunity" to resolve the dispute. | Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said his union would work hard to avoid a strike. He said it would give the Royal Mail a "final opportunity" to resolve the dispute. |
He said there would be a minimum of 10 days before any strike would take place in which he hoped an agreement could be reached with Royal Mail. | |
He added that union members had delivered a "damning verdict on the way the Royal Mail is run. We understand the need for modernisation, but it needs to be done in a way that protects workers". | He added that union members had delivered a "damning verdict on the way the Royal Mail is run. We understand the need for modernisation, but it needs to be done in a way that protects workers". |
Mr Ward also said the government had "caused many of the problems" the Royal Mail was now experiencing. | |
"If we don't take a stand now, postal services in the UK will be destroyed forever," he said. | |
Postal Affairs Minister Lord Young said: "A national postal strike is completely self-defeating and will only serve to hurt consumers and businesses who rely on the post and drive even more people away from using mail as a means of communication. | |
"Royal Mail must modernise and these strikes will slow down that essential process." |